The Freedom of Severus Snape: A Christmas Story
by VioletIvoire
Summary: ...in which Voldemort sends his slav-*ahem* followers on a death mission...
1. Chapter 1

_I've finally written something again! Lol...took forever...but it's still not complete and the next chapter may take a very long while for me to put up...mostly because I can't decide if I want to pair Hermione with Lucius or Severus...but I am hoping to finish up this story before Christmas!...I hope my story isn't going too out there, I think it will be predictable, but even predictable stories can be enjoyable right?_

 _Anyway...I don't think I am going to be able to stay true to the characters, but I am trying my best (^.^')_

 _Enjoy!_

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The Freedom of Severus Snape: A Christmas Story

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"Darn!" He muttered as his bare feet hit the cold stone floor. The pain flaring up his left arm woke him up from his deep slumber and he was not very happy.

Then again, when was he ever happy?

He quickly donned his dark robes and mask before sending a note through the floo for his master. He hoped no one was captured that belonged to the Order. That would make the rest of his night just peachy.

The night was cold, freezing. The lake was already beginning to show signs of frost near the shore. He quickly disillusioned and warded his private exit and strode across the grounds towards the gates and disapparated, appearing in front of a once breathtaking manor but now seemed so dark that even the crows avoided going near the building.

"Ssseverusss," he was happily greeted by his second master upon his entry into Malfoy Manor. How odd that the Dark Lord was waiting for him in the entrance hall.

"Master," Severus returned with as much humbleness he could muster up even though the emotion was a falsity. "Might I inquire what has lifted your mood so, your greatness?" He asked cautiously.

"Ah Ssseveruss," Voldemort said morosely. "Alwayss one to get down to businessss. You could have at leasst let me build up to what hass lifted my sspiritsss."

"Forgive me, my Lord," Severus said with sincerity...well with what he hoped was sincerity. His thoughts were locked up tighter than Her Majesty's Crown Jewels behind his Occlumency shields, but his emotions were still lagging behind in the dungeons at Hogwarts.

"No worriesss, no worriesss," Voldemort said as comfortingly as he could and Severus did his best to repress a shudder at the fact that the Dark Lord was trying to be comforting, which was not very comforting. He again made sure his thoughts were guarded as well as all the gold in Fort Knox. "I am very closse to confirming a theory I formed lasst year around thiss time and I need two of my besst ssslav-men," he quickly corrected himself, "to confirm my findingss."

"Of course, my Lord. Would you like me to inform these men?" Severus again repressed a shudder at his Master's slip. 'Of course were his slaves,' he thought sullenly. 'He is only expressing the truth.'

"No need, Ssseveruss," Voldemort smiled and motioned to the blond wizard coming down the stairs. Severus and Lucius shared a comradely glance. "Luciuss and you will be ssearching after that old fool releassess the ssstudentss for Christmass."

"Forgive my insolence, my Lord," Lucius said carefully. "But you still have not told us, or at least me, what your theory is."

"Of coursse," Voldemort's smile grew and the two wizards knew that confirming this 'theory' was going to cause them even more hell than their lives already had in it. The two waited patiently while the Dark Lord had his moment. "The two of you and young Draco will be travelling up North ssearching for an illussive wizard. No one can prove that thiss man exisstss," he paused dramatically, "but I can prove he iss alive."

"What is the name of this man that has made himself illusory?" Severus asked. The Dark Lord smiled wryly and the two men knew this quest to confirm Voldemort's theory was going to cost them something big, either their status in the Inner Circle or their blood.

"You will be ssearching for a man whosse name iss Misster Kringle," Voldemort said. Severus did his best not to let his jaw fall open in shock and the sudden onslaught of laughter that was currently working its way up his oesophagus from his stomach. He quickly glanced sideways at Lucius who was looking back at the Dark Lord in all seriousness and he started hacking up coughs to cover up his laughter.

"Ex- *cougha * cougha * -cuse me * coughaha*," Severus sputtered, trying desperately to cover up his laughter with a coughing fit lest the Order be short one spy. "Please pardon me, my Lord. I must have let my rooms get too cold and now I seem to be coming down with a slight cough." Voldemort gave him a nod in acknowledgement and continued.

"Misster Kriss Kringle livess up in the North Pole and I want him found by the time Hogwartss resstartss classess in the new year. He will either tell me the ssecret to his immortality and how he iss able to control time without the use of a time turner, or millionss of little witchess and wizardss around the world, and I daressay a few _muggle_ children, will be ssorely disappointed for yearss to come."

"Yes my Lord," Lucius and Severus agreed simultaneously.

"Dissmissed!" He hissed, and the two quickly took their cue to leave.

*HaPpY cHrIsTmAs! *

"What has your pants all tangled up!" Lucius called after Severus and quickly entered the secret passageway before Severus could re-ward it.

"What has my pants all in a twist is the fact that this time next year you, Draco, and me will be laying six feet under," he snarled, dramatically did the sign of the cross, kissed his hand and blew the kiss at Lucius. A satirical act, but it made him feel better because Lucius had no idea of its meaning, or who the illusive Kris Kringle was known as in the muggle world.

"I know you are a pureblood, but I thought you had a little more understanding of popular muggle culture!" Severus hissed.

"Cheer up old friend," Lucius insisted before following Severus into the floo. "Draco and I just got caught up in muggle Opera for a while."

"Ah, muggle Opera is a wonder all in its own," Albus Dumbledore smiled. "I am especially partial to Cats."

"You would be," Severus mumbled loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"Now, what information do you two have for me?" Albus asked.

"The two of us and Draco have been assigned to find a man named Kris Kringle who lives in the North Pole," Lucius answered. A snort to the left of the two dark wizards drew their attention. Severus's wand was in his hand and already casting a _finite_ before the Headmaster could stop him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Severus hissed at Albus and the student hiding behind a curtain that Albus must have set up as an illusion.

"Calm down Severus," Albus warned.

"I am sorry," Hermione Granger said to the Headmaster sincerely. "I did not have enough time to cast the silencing charm like you instructed me to do before the Professor and Mister Malfoy came out of the floo."

"I know, child. It is not your fault," Albus said understandingly.

"You still have not given me an explanation, Albus," Severus hissed. "Why do you always have to make messes that I end up having to clear up!" His voice rose. "Though I will take so much pleasure in obliviating Miss Granger's memories," he suddenly purred, causing Hermione to shiver.

"That will not be necessary, Severus," Albus said sternly. "Miss Granger is here to act as a liaison for yourself and Lucius in case anything should ever happen to me," he said tiredly. Severus and Lucius grew quiet. Already there had been attempts on the Headmaster's life that the two did not know were coordinated.

"Well the Order may be down three spies by next year," Severus suddenly snarled. "So we will be joining you in the afterlife Headmaster."

"All we have to do is find this Kringle," Lucius said. "He seems to be powerful so we don't have to worry about the Dark Lord hurting him too much."

"No we don't," Severus said mockingly. "Because Kris Kringle will never have to face the Dark Lord because _we won't find him!_ " He finished in a roar. Hermione flinched, but couldn't hide the smile that was threatening to break out.

"Nonsense Severus," Albus said. "The three of you will have the help of a few Order members and hopefully you will all be back within a week or two."

"DO YOU NOT ALL GET IT!" Severus yelled while his hands grasped the roots of his hair.

"Calm down Severus!" Albus and Lucius ordered. Hermione cleared her throat.

"What Professor Snape is trying to say is that Kris Kringle simply will not be found because he does not exist," Hermione said gently.

"What?" Lucius asked worriedly, his body breaking out into a cold sweat.

"I am sure everyone is this room knows who Father Christmas is," Hermione said. "Well in the muggle world Father Christmas is also known as Kris Kringle," she explained to the purebloods.

"Oh fuck," Lucius gasped. "That's why he said that millions of children will be disappointed every year."

"Do you not see now?" Severus asked dourly. "The Dark Lord is setting us up to fail," he said tiredly, dropping down into a chair. "He didn't even tell us his _theory_ ," he reminded Lucius.

"Double damn," Lucius muttered. "You are right, Severus," he said of Severus's emphasis on theory, "he has no assumptions. It is all a set up," he tried his best not to choke.

"Headmaster," Hermione said softly. "How do we get Draco out of this mission?" She asked, causing the two spies to pause.

* * *

 _Can anyone see yet where I am planning on going with this? Lol...anyway...I hope everyone had a safe, fun, Happy Halloween!_


	2. Chapter 2

The Freedom of Severus Snape: A Christmas Story

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 _ **This chapter is may be changed!**_

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 _I still haven't decided if I want this to be a Severus/Hermione or Lucius/Hermione...I think this time I'm leaning towards S/H. He does need a happy ending, as someone pointed out in my other story...and I did forget to include him in that ending...which is why this story has been stuck in my head...and I'm barely working on the fifth chapter...and *anxiety * soo much schoolwork and I want to be done by Christmas, but I don't want to rush through because I'll make too many errors, and I still have to study for finals, and I barely finished mid-term, and being an online student seems more stressful than going to regular college/uni...woah..that feels better, lol..._

 _Anyway (#^.^#)_

 _After I complete the story you all will see a chapter 3 to the end (^.^)...hopefully in time for Christmas (^.^)...*just keep smiling VI..* … …... …... …...mm hmm...cheers now.._

 _Gah! I think my story is going to be too cliché...sorry..._

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 _But really...I don't own anything from this universe...had to say that..._

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"Hermione," Ron whinged. "Come on!" Hermione gritted her teeth and kept trying to ignore her soon-to-be one time best friend. "It's not like anyone else is ever gonna want you!" He said a little louder than he intended to and Hermione froze in her seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Excuse me?" She hissed at him

"That was just wrong, Ron," Harry shook his head in disbelief that his best mate had actually gone there with his surrogate sister.

"Well it's true!" Ron said definsively. "No one is ever going to want to shag a know-it-all bookworm like her! She's not even pretty enough!"

This time the whole great hall halted in their quiet conversations and movements and waited for the reaction. Down at the Slytherin table no one noticed the tense face of the blond Head Boy who forced himself to replace his expression with a smirk.

o

"Her magic is building up, Albus," the Potions Master whispered at the Headmaster's left as the staff intensely kept an eye on the scene unfolding in front of them.

o

"Ronald Weasley!" Ginny Weasley hissed. "That is no way to talk to Hermione! I cannot believe you!"

"I can talk to her anyway I want!" Ron's voice rose.

"I am not your sister, mother, or girlfriend Ronald Weasley. I am not ever going to be any one of those things to you nor would I ever want to be, and even if I were one of those that still gives you no right to talk to or about me that way!" Hermione hissed as her finger poked Ron in the chest. He suddenly grabbed her hand and started twisting her finger slowly.

"Stop Ron, you're hurting her," Harry warned as Hermione's face started contorting with pain. He tried to ply Ron's fingers from the grip he had on Hermione, but Ron was now too angry and Hermione was starting to cry, but she refused to make a sound.

Severus was already up from his chair and heading towards the foursome followed by Albus, Minerva, and Madame Pomfrey when Harry suddenly punched Ron just as Ginny kicked below his belt line. Hermione's hand was free, but the sudden jerk caused her index finger to pop and she gave a little cry of pain.

"Why are you all defending her!" Ron's face was screwed up in pain and anger as he yelled his next sentence. "She's nothing but a _filthy little mublood_!" The whole Great Hall gasped as one and even the Professors paused in their haste to reach the four students.

"Her magic is building up too high!" Severus warned and sprinted toward Hermione, pulling out his wand when she suddenly threw up her hands and disappeared, but not before releasing a spine shivering scream.

She did not disapparate, disillusion herself, or run away, but she just _disappeared_ into thin air.

The Great Hall went into chaos.

*HaPpY cHrIsTmAs*

Everything- _everyone_ \- was _frozen_.

Everyone was literally _frozen_ in _time_.

Hermione could only sit back down in her seat, staring in disbelief with only three thoughts going through her head, _'Holy Shit! What the hell is going on?_ She look down at her hands which were thrown up in front of her. ' _Did I do this?'_

She looked around for the only person she knew, or at least hoped, could give her an explanation as to what was happening and saw him as he was attempting to manoeuvre his way through the crowd of students that were gathered around the frozen scene. He was frozen in time.

"Please," Hermione whispered. "I need you," she pleaded to him though she knew he would not hear her. It was a miracle, at least she thought so when her best friend suddenly moved. He looked confused for a moment when he took in the stillness around him, but quickly gathered his wits.

"Hermione!" Harry rushed toward her. "What happened?" He asked, gathering her in his arms and holding her to him as tightly as he could without causing injury. "Why is everyone unmoving?" He asked himself more than the person he embraced.

"You frightened me," He continued, holding her to himself a little closer before releasing her just a little, but not letting go. "You just disappeared after that, that _scream_. Dumbledore was swearing that you could not apparate within Hogwarts, and the commotion your disappearance caused upset nearly the whole staff." Hermione was silent during his little speech and could only hold onto him as tightly as he held onto her.

"I don't know how I did it," she whispered. He had to strain his ears to hear her but her words made him pause.

"Nonsense," he said. "I don't mean to sound insulting, but you are not nearly powerful enough to freeze time. I think I remember you saying that it is suspected that Merlin could, but-"

"I know it was me," Hermione insisted. "Ron just made me so angry and embarrassed! I wanted, I wished, everything to just go away, that everyone and everything could just be still for a moment." He was quiet for a few moments while they both thought over her words.

"Do you think you could wish my scar away?" Harry asked, almost hopefully, though he knew nothing would erase the mark that left him without parents. Hermione looked up at him with frightened eyes. "Right, no time for jokes," he said. Hermione lifted her hand to brush her fingers across his cheek.

"I did not take it as such," she said softly. "If I had the means and knowledge to erase your scar I would do so, but right now what we should be thinking about is how do I undo what I did?" She asked him. "I don't even know how-" She was cut off from her sentence by the sound of more than several hoofs beating upon the stone floors outside of the Great Hall. The two of them pulled out their wands, ready for any battle that should come upon the vulnerable students and staff, and the words of a curse were on the tips of their tongues when the heavy wooden doors were flung open by an invisible force, but what made the two of them pause was the jovial laughter that warmed their rapidly beating hearts.

The ' _Ho-Ho-Ho_ ' that the man, the young man, with rosy cheeks and sparking blue eyes, shared with the world was a far cry from the spine-freezing laughter that Voldemort shared, and the two of them could only stand as frozen as the people around them as they witnessed this wizard's entrance.

It was a sight to behold.

Snow magically laid out a path for the nine reindeer that were hitched to a red sleigh with a man in a dark blue suit with silver trimmings guiding the reins as he was pulled into the Great Hall, somehow magically not causing any injuries to the still unmoving students. The sleigh stopped right before a stunned and speechless Harry and Hermione.

"What the fu-" Harry finally managed.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, elbowing his ribs and causing him to slightly hiss in pain. A muffled ' _Ho-Ho_ ' in a mitten, and two sapphire blue eyes filled with amusement, caught their attention. The man stepped out of the sleigh and Hermione had to look up at his fine sandy coloured hair. She couldn't help but notice how similar their colouring was.

"You're not Father Christmas," was the only thing Hermione could think of to say to him. His jovial laughter filled the Great Hall, and seemingly all of Hogwarts, and made a smile flicker across Hermione's face.

"No, I daresay I am not our Father," he smiled. The smile immediately dropped off of Hermione's face. She turned to Harry in confusion and he looked down at her questioningly, a sign that he was just as bemused as she.

"Our Father?" Harry questioned. The stranger's eyes only sparkled more at his inquiry, but he kept looking down at Hermione with fascination, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

"Not for the first time," he said softly the sparkle in his eyes lessening as Hermione's thoughts displayed across her face. "It has been years," he reached for her hand and Harry moved to stop the stranger from getting too close to his sister. "Not to worry Harry," he said, still not sparing a glance for the dark haired teen. "It is inconceivable for me to even consider harm to my baby sister."

"What?"

"Sister?" Hermione and Harry asked simultaneously. Harry should have been relieved with the stranger's words, but he only wanted to put more distance between him and Hermione.

"I am an only child," Hermione said informatively.

"But you are not," he said sadly, his eyes losing their sparkle altogether. "It is my fault you think you are and I am so sorry my Chris," he said with a hitch in his voice.

"Chris?" Hermione asked. "I simply cannot be your sister. My name is Hermione, and Dad and Mum could have only me." The man in the blue suit smiled sadly.

"Hermione," he said, again reading her thoughts. "I called you Chris since the day you were born, and still call you Chris when you are in my thoughts." Hermione looked up at him in wonder and he smiled. "You only over let me, and I suspect Harry, shorten your name."

"Even so-," Hermione started.

"I lost you," he interrupted. "We begged Father and Mother to let us build Frosty again, as the time to rebuild him was near. We were impatient and we missed him," his voice hitched. "You were only five years young. I didn't want to bother with minding you while I was gathering Frosty's buttons, scarf, and top hat and I left you on your own and not a moment later you were gone. I lost you," he said softly.

"You had wandered toward the Aurora Borealis and fell in," he explained. "Da and Mum were so upset with me for not keeping an eye on you. We couldn't find you for the longest time, Chr-Hermione," he choked.

"Da explained that when you fell into the Aurora Borealis you lost your memories of us so you would not be able to find your way home, and we could not find you because you just simply disappeared. Da could not explain that, and Mum cried every night for a whole year," he said, wiping away a few of his own tears. "But I found you!" He laughed joyfully and pulled her into a hug before Harry could stop him. Hermione looked up at him with watery eyes. "You know?" He whispered. Hermione looked down and swiped a few tears from her cheeks while she shook her head.

"It all sounds familiar," she admitted very reluctantly. "How did you find me anyway?" She asked.

"You performed family magic," he smiled. "That allowed me to track you and come straight away."

"Mione," Harry squeezed her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't let him put thoughts in your head," he warned softly. "You were only five. No one has very clear memories of themselves at that age unless it was traumatising or otherwise happily memorable."

"I just mean that I must have read something similar to this in a book or saw it on the telly," Hermione clarified, and the young man was disheartened.

"I can prove I am not lying," the man said with a hard edge to his tone. Harry looked across at the stranger with a challenging glare. He pointed towards the Potions Professor and moved his index finger in a 'come hither' motion and the Professor suddenly moved towards them in a sprint before slowing as he took in the still scenery.

"What is going on here?" Professor Snape demanded. "What did you do, Miss Granger?" He said accusingly with his famous glare.

"Well, um, Mister-uh, he said I did family magic," Hermione motioned toward the man in a blue suit. Severus lifted an eyebrow, challenging the truth of her words, but Hermione could have sworn that she saw amusement in his eyes for a moment.

"In order for you to have used _family_ magic, Miss Granger, you have to _have_ a family," he reminded her, though it sounded like sarcasm to Harry and he could only glare at the Professor for pointing out the obvious to Hermione just a few minutes after Ron shouted it to the whole school.

"Yes Professor," Hermione said. "I understand."

"Well he said _he_ could prove it," Harry said suddenly, still glaring at Snape while motioning to the young stranger that was claiming familial relations to Hermione.

"You keep nearly every type of potion in your pockets," the young man spoke up, "and I happen to know that you have a _Quin Cognatione_ (Verify Family, roughly translated) in there somewhere."

"She does not need proof," Severus hissed. "She knows-How do you even know what potions I have in my pockets?"

"Professor Snape," Hermione's voice softly intercepted his just as the wizard in the blue suit started whistling a Christmas tune. "I will do it," she said quietly. "If he needs proof-"

"I do not need proof," the man said, halting in the middle of the notes for the line 'He knows when you're awake'. "I know who you are Chris." Hermione looked up at him sternly. "Please," he pleaded. "Let me prove to you that you are my sister." Hermione took in his beseeching sapphire eyes and conceded.

"Okay," she agreed, her heart thumping wildly. She turned to Professor Snape. "I'll do it," she said quietly.

"This is crazy," Harry mumbled as they watched Professor Snape reach into a pocket and rummage around. "One freaking crazy day. First Mione disappears into thin air, than she admits to freezing time, and not even a minute after Father Christmas-"

"I am not Father Christmas," the man gave them a secret smile.

"Yes, yes," Severus said testily. "We all know he doesn't exist," he said as he pulled out a phial, completely missing the coldness in the man's eyes that appeared for a moment. Hermione looked up at him and it was gone before she could notice, but the look made Harry uneasy.

"Now I need a hair-," Severus started in his classroom voice.

"I will give a drop of blood," the man said holding out his finger, which already held a drop of blood at its very tip, over the phial. "I wish for this to be as accurate as possible."

"Fine, fine," Severus hissed completely missing as the stranger's small incision healed itself, which was not missed by Hermione or Harry. "Miss Granger," he said only a tad more softly to her. "After thirty seconds the phial will emit red sparks, it means that there is no relation," He started to say. "If it happens to emit silver sparks it means that there is a distant relation, and gold sparks mean a close relation. After five minutes it will tell what the relation is." Hermione nodded and held out her hand to him and he held her hand gently as he made the small incision, and carefully healed her wound and her broken finger.

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly, only for him to hear and Severus gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"There," Severus said with a smirk after twenty-nine seconds, only to have to smirk slip off his face, and Harry had to slightly turn to catch Hermione when she swooned after witnessing the gold sparks.

"How?" Hermione asked. "Did Mum and Dad give you up for adoption?" She asked. "Or do you belong to only my Mum or only my Dad? I can't be adopted," she denied. "They would have told me," she said with a hitch to her voice and buried her head into Harry's chest.

"Shh," Harry said softly into her hair, closing his eyes and breathing in and out in a steady manner to calm himself. "We'll soon figure this out, Mione. All will be well," he whispered, though he couldn't be sure. His best friend, his sister for all intents and purposes, had a brother. He was suddenly worried that he would be replaced by this stranger.

"Chris," the man said after a few minutes of witnessing Harry comfort her.

"Am I really your sister?" She asked him quietly. He nodded with a small smile for her while resuming his whistling to the same Christmas tune.

"I have to ask you something," he said, giving Hermione the feeling that his question was of some importance. His eyes sparkled cautiously. "Do you believe that Father Christmas exists?" He asked. Severus snorted and Hermione had to elbow Harry in his ribs to stop him from doing the same as the Professor.

"We had this conversation two days ago," Hermione lightly admonished him, only for him to give her a half-smile. She looked up at the stranger, her maybe new found brother when the potion confirmed the claim, and nodded seriously. "I do," she said, just as a small piece of parchment popped out of the rim of the phial and Severus pulled it out, read it, and handed it to Hermione but Harry snatched it before she could reach it and ignored Snape's point deduction and Hermione's indignant, "Harry!"

"You have got to be kidding me," Harry hissed at the man, Hermione's now confirmed brother, and the man could only smile at Harry's outburst. "You come in here on a red sleigh with nine reindeer claiming to be Mione's brother, whistle that Santa's coming to town. Are you going to imply next that, that reindeer with the red nose is Rudolph?" He yelled. "And I suppose that's Dasher and Dancer and Prancer, and Vixen. Oh Look!" He exclaimed, not noticing how the reindeer stood up to attention. "It's Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen!"

"Harry," Hermione hissed over his yelling. "What in the world is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me?" Harry laughed, frightening Hermione. "Nothing, nothing in the world is wrong with me. But you, Christmas Hermione Kringle, have the oddest family names in the history of the world." He held the parchment to her and gave her a disbelieving nod. She looked down at the parchment, then at Professor Snape, at the parchment again, then the sleigh and reindeer, and then her brother.

"Is this some kind of joke?" She asked. "Fred! George! If you do not come out this instant I will hex you into next year!" Her threat didn't work, it usually did with those two. "Did you make a mistake when brewing this particular potion?" Hermione asked the professor, only to receive a scowl in return. "Is our family some kind of Christmas fanatics?" Hermione asked her brother and his eyes only sparkled.

"Kris?" She asked sweetly. He smiled hesitantly. "Explain why this says that Kris Kringle the first is also known as Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Le Père Noël, etcetera, etcetera!" She hissed. He flinched.

"Well, Chris," he said hesitantly, "that's because our Da _is_ Saint Nicholas." Hermione looked at him blandly.

"George and Fred Weasley get your bloody arses out here!" Hermione yelled.

"Christmas Hermione Kringle!" Her brother snapped at her and snapped his fingers, transfiguring her lips into a zipper that she struggled to undo while making small helpless noises.

"Undo this," Harry demanded while he tried various _finites_ on Hermione. "Aren't you supposed to protect her?" He glared at the Professor who looked as though he was enjoying himself a little too much at Hermione's expense.

"Oh I would if Miss Granger were actually being harmed, Mister Potter," the Professor purred all too happily. "But as merely staff, I cannot interfere with her family's disciplinary methods unless they are actually causing harm to the student. I see no harm being done here," he smirked. "In fact, I hear delightful silence." Harry could only clench his fists and keep them firmly at his sides while he glared on, wishing for his Professor's head to explode.

"Mmmrh!" Hermione glared at the Professor and he only smirked back.

"Language, Miss Granger," he purred at her.

"Mmmrrrr rrrhhhhmmm," was her indecipherable reply while she glared up at him.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger. For not speaking properly to a teacher," he could only continue his fun.

"Rrrrrhhh," Hermione growled, throwing up her hands. Professor Snape suddenly froze where he was standing. "Mmm," Hermione folded her arms and nodded with self-satisfaction while Harry laughed and her brother smiled with amusement. "Mmmm hhm," Hermione glared at her brother while pointing to her mouth.

"I hope you remember to watch your language next time, Christmas," he warned. "Otherwise you will stay like this for ten minutes and it will increase by five minutes every time," he warned her, then snapped his fingers and her mouth returned to normal.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked. "Can you teach me to do that? How much wandless magic can you do? How dare you do that to me!" She said, crossing her arms all the while not noticing how the Great Hall was nearly clear of students and staff, except for a frozen Headmaster.

o

"Severus," the Headmaster greeted. "You just disappeared like Miss Granger and Mister Potter. We were worried. I am assuming that since you disappeared by the same methods as them that you were also where they are?" He asked. Severus looked around the empty Great Hall and he wandlessly sealed the doors, performed many silencing charms, and an illusion charm around their area.

"Do you feel that, Albus?" He asked. The Headmaster nodded gravely.

"Great magic t'is afoot," he said. "It reeks of Miss Granger's signature over the whole castle and the grounds along with another that compliments hers."

"I am sorry to have to correct you, Headmaster, but Miss Granger can no longer go by Granger. By law we must call her Miss _Kringle_ ," he emphasised. The Headmaster paused, then nodded seriously.

"Any chance there is a relation to Kris Kringle?" He could not help but ask.

"Albus," Severus said, suddenly very serious, "I am afraid that it is going to be very hard to cover up Miss Kringle's bout of accidental magic," he said with a small smile that looked unnatural on him.

"Why do you say so Severus," the Headmaster asked worriedly.

"Because I can suddenly feel the Dark Lord's happiness through my Dark Mark," he answered.

* * *

 _I only posted this chapter because I wanted to say something short and simple in support of France. These days not many people support a good cause, even with just heartfelt words, and others who do want to support with a nice post don't want to cause controversy. I sincerely hope I don't unknowingly offend anyone by saying how much my heart hurts for our brothers and sisters in Paris, France and Beirut. I am keeping you all in my prayers, and I want you know that you are loved._

 _~V.I._


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